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When we lived in Austin, we actually had a bocce set. As I recall, non of us knew the rules, so we made them up depending on who and how many were playing. And that held true until yesterday, when we learned to play bocce at the hand of a champion!

Many years ago, we are told, Cortona had a bocce court in/near Porta Colonna, before it became a parking lot. Today, however, bocce is played just outside of Cortona in Tavernelle.

There we found BOCCIODROMO Communal, or the community bocce dome. Not just any dome mind you, but a semi professional one that held the special olympics some years ago. And according to the Special Olympics website: Next to soccer and golf, bocce is the third most participated sport in the world.

I must admit, I was hooked. Although the basic principle of the sport is to roll a bocce ball closest to the pallina or target ball, there are so many styles and strategies as well as a great deal of competitiveness at play.

11 Responses to “BOCCE Cortona”

A little constructive criticism. I noticed a basic flaw in all of the pictures. In order to be properly “balanced” when throwing a bocce ball, it’s imperative that you have a beer bottle in your other hand.

Wow! Looks like a great way to keep in shape. Once we visited our daughter in Marin (across the Golden Gate Bridge) and she gave us a bedroom next to the Bocce court. A lot of older men were happy playing well into the night. Not surprising given how Italian the SF/Napa area is. I’ll bet you and Len have relatives there!